The widespread acceptance by teachers and students of "The First Book Series" for soprano, mezzo-soprano/alto, tenor, baritone/bass has prompted the development of a Part Two addition for each voice type. After discussions with numerous voice teachers, the key suggestion expressed many times was that there is a need for "more of the same" type of literature at exactly the same level. The volumes in Part Two follow many of the same concepts which are covered in the preface of the original volumes, including a comprehensive selection of between 34 and 37 songs from the Baroque through the 20th century. The selections range from easy to moderate difficulty for both singer and accompanist. In response to many requests, we have included more sacred songs, and have added two Christmas solos in each volume. The recommendation for more humorous songs for each voice was honored as well. Even though these books have a heavy concentration of English and American songs, we have also expanded the number of Italian, German, and French offerings. For those using the English singing translations, we have tried to find the translations that are most singable, and in several cases have reworked the texts. Part Two can easily stand alone as a first book for a beginning high school, college, or adult student. Because of the varied contents, Part Two can also be successfully used in combination with the first volume of the series for an individual singer. This will give many choices of vocal literature, allowing for individual differences in student personality, maturity, and musical development. Hal Leonard Publishing (distributor of G. Schirmer) and Richard Walters, supervising editor, have been most generous in allowing the initial objective for this series to be expanded more fully through publishing these companion volumes. We hope this new set of books will provide yet another interesting and exciting new source of repertoire for both the teacher and student. - Preface.

More great teaching material at the same level as the first volume. Over 30 songs in each volume with no song duplicated between voice types. A student could easily begin either in The First Book or The First Book Part II, or the books may be used concurrently. - Amazon.com